Modern Family’s iPad infomercial

I love ABC’s “Modern Family” as much as anyone. It’s the rare comedy that fires on all cylinders/demographic levels. It seamlessly incorporates a hot Latina, her old-for-his age son and her much older second husband, a gay family and adopted Asian daughter, and a goofy dad who desperately wants to be hip, along with and his three variously quirky kids and adorably over-extended wife. Sounds painfully sitcom-y when described that way, but it’s not. It’s the writing that makes it fresh.

So imagine my disappointment when last night’s episode was all about seamlessly integrating a product placement into the story. Apple’s iPad, a current national obsession, it’s true, was mentioned in every other line and shown on-screen at length. The premise was lame: Gotta get one for dad’s birthday! Really, I know the writers can do better–they have every week.
What do you think? Am I being too hard on a genuinely funny show?

I just bought the birthday app that got featured in Modern Family last night on the iPad!!! Works on the iPhone too. It's so much fun!!! http://tinyurl.com/ylmjm3t

Dan Hutchinsno

The Toyota placement early in the show was bad on its own, but the full-on Costco and iPod infomercials were too much.

Anders

The episode was awful, been watching the show from the start and loved every episode. The Ipad episode was so annoying I decided that I am done with Modern Family for good. Whether ABC got paid by Apple or not, the show lost it's focus and gave it's soul away…too bad, really. But hey, it goes to show that even the most talented and brilliant writers can fall flat on their face over a gadget, I just wish they had bought one and not traded Modern Family for one. Why am I reminded of Bruno's “I swapped him…for an Ipod” line?

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.